Russian Revolution has returned to racing at The Valley in the best way possible this afternoon; running home well to beat a small but classy field of sprinters in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes (1000m).

Russian Revolution (pictured winning at Randwick) posted a smart first-up win in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes this afternoon. Photo: Steve Hart

The Snitzel entire resumed in autumn for an impressive win in the Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) and he did his chances of repeating that effort not harm when jumping well and taking an ideal position in transit on the heels of early leader Heatherly.

Resounding favourite Houtzen was under heavy riding on the bend and was out of contention when the field straightened, while Russian Revolution worked alongside Heatherly and easily moved clear; savaging the line for a comfortable win.

Mark Zahra delivered a smart ride aboard Russian Revolution to win the McEwen Stakes and believes that the horse will only improve with the run.

“He’s a very exciting sprinter,” Zahra said.

“One thing you know with the Snowdens is they present them spot-on and he had two trials before the race and he was ready to go today.

“I saw Houtzen on the whip coming around the bend today and I thought we’d be difficult to beat from here.

“I won a race at Caulfield on him last year and he’s a beauty. He just cruises around and had speed, but under the good tempo today he was able to just sit off that horse (Heatherly) and really relax, and he was dominant in the end.”

Co-trainer Paul Snowden was on hand for Russian Revolution’s win in the McEwen Stakes and revealed that the Group 1 Moir Stakes over course and distance is the horse’s likely next target.

“We targeted this race on purpose, it’s a bit of a barrier trials for the Moir in a couple of weeks’ time,” Snowden said.

“It was a good indication to see how he handled it. He obviously jumped well and put himself right there, which was always the pre-race plan.

“If they didn’t want to be there, we were always going to take it up. The plan came off really well and Mark rode him extremely well.”

Heatherly worked to the line well to post her second-consecutive second place finish, while Houtzen managed to hold on late to finish third.